Liquid and powdered soap dispenser



Oct. 28, 1930. 5. H. PACKWOOD. JR

LIQUID AND POWDERED SOAP DISPENSER Filed Feb. 26. 1929 gwuento'v PatentedO ct. 28, 1930 UNITED; STATES PATENT OFFICE enonennracxwoon, 3a., OFST. LOUIS, MISSOURI,- ASSIGNOR' T0 G. H. PACKWOOD MFG. COMPANY, or ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION or MISSOURI I LIQUID AND POWDERED SOAP DISPENSIER- Application filed February 26, 1929. Serial No. 342,828.

This invention relates to dispensers for dispensing powdered and liquid soap' or like commodities and particularly to those dispensers which are mounted for tilting movement in a horizontal plane. In ordinary dispensers of this character, it is necessary that the dispenser be returned 'to its inoperative position by hand after the soap has been dispensed therefrom or if they are released, they tilt back to normal position against a stop, thus jarring the contents of the dispenser. In dispensers of this type, the discharge opening is ordinarily at the bottom of the dispensing receptacle, and as "a consequence. vapor or moisture rising frointhe wash basin is very liable to collect around this opening and pass into the interior of the receptacle.

lVith these disadvantages in view, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a soap dispenser which is so formed that any water condensing or otherwise collecting upon the dispensing vessel or receptacle will run down to the lowest portion of the receptacle and away from the discharge opening thereof. and will drop into the basin, thereceptacle forming a water shed so that the Water is naturally carried away by'gravity from the discharge opening in the top of the receptacle.

A further object is to provide a soap dispenser which will swing back to normal position under the action of gravity and which will do so without shock or jar. 1

Another most important object of this invention is to provide a swingable soap receptacle which visibly indicates by its position just how much soap it contains and which is so constructed that when in normal position or when full of soap,the top of the receptacle or dispenser will hang or be disposed only a few degrees from the vertical axis whereas when empty ornearly empty, the top will be disposed at a greater number of degrees from the vertical axis, and in this connection to provide an index point so that the amount of inclination of the soap receptacle due to the discharge of" soap therefrom may be readily ascertained,thus'ipermitting the owner of the receptacle to notewhen it needs filling without waiting until the entire condischarge position so as ceptacle from being turned completely around tents of the receptacle have been discharged.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of a soap dispenser constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view'thereof;

Figure 3 is a section from front to rear and showing in dotted lines the position of the structure when tipped to discharge its con-- tents, and

Figure 4 is a like view to Figure 3 but showing the position of the dispenser when the material has been entirely or nearly entirely discharged;

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the soap receptacle 10 is approximately globular in form and is mounted for swinging movement in a vertical plane upon a support comprising a base plate 11 adapted to be disposed against a wall or clamped upon vertical or horizontal pipes or otherwise supported, this base plate 11 having the outwardly projecting arms or brackets 12. Each of these arms at its end is formed with a bearing 13 having a. pivot screw 14 which passes through a bushing 15. The upper face of the arm is provided with the outwardly projecting lug 16 screw-threaded forthe passage of a limiting screw 17 if desired. The upper'face of each bearing is formed with a transverse rib 18 constituting an index pointer. The receptacle 10 upon its opposite side faces is formed with the outwardly proj ecting hub-like lugs 19 having screw-thread ed apertures for engagement with the pivot pins 14 and outward of the hub-like portion '19 are provided the outwardly projecting cars 20 which are adapted to engage with the stop 16 when the reccptaclefis turned beyond its to prevent the rein acounterclockwise direction.

The receptacle is provided with the outwardly projecting lip 21 upon its front and the top of the receptacle is cut 0E at 22 to provide a'seat for a cover 23. This cover is held in place by screws 24 and is provided metal having a highly 15 with a flap valve 25 pivoted upon lugs 26. When the receptacle is tilted from its normal position, the flap valve opens and the contents of the receptacle are discharged. VVithin the receptacle and carried by the cover 23 is a measuring and'dispensing mechanism which is fully illustrated, described and claimed in my pending application for Patent, Serial No. 342,827 filed on the 26th day of February, 1929. The present application has to do with the particular form of the receptable.

The receptacle 10 is "preferably made of polished surface upon its exterior face anc the outer face of the cover 23 forms a continuation of the globular form of the receptacle. It will be seen from Figure 2 that the receptacle is relatively nara row transversely; The pivotal axis formed by the pins 14 extends transversely through the receptacle rearward of a vertical plane cutting through the center of the receptacle and slightly above a horizontal plane cutting through the center of the receptacle andthis, with the peculiar shape of the receptacle, :tends to tilt it for-ward. The receptacle is not i .in the form of a true sphere but the front wall of the receptacle has a relatively flat curve from the top to the bottom of the receptacle. The vertical curvature of the rear wall of the receptacle is eccentricv to the curvature of the front wall and of a smaller radius and is eccentric to the axis of rotation so thatthe rear portion of the receptacle protrudes rearwardly. r

.On a vertical line A -A drawn through the receptacle when at rest, the pivotal axis is nearer the top of the receptacle than it is the bottom ofthe receptacle and it will be seen that the shallow curve of the front wall of the receptacle merges into a relatively flattened or very slightly curved bottom portion 10.

I When the receptacle is filled with soap'powder, the center of gravity is such that the line between the cover and the body of the recepvtacle is nearly in a horizontal plane but not quite, this line tilting downward and forward some degrees. The material under these circumstances collects in the lower portion of the receptacle and tends to hold the receptacle in this position. As the 'material is dis- ,charged, however, the remaining material moves further and further forward causing the receptacle to tilt further and further forward aftereach discharge untilwhenthe receptacle has been fully discharged, it will be in the position shown in Figure 4 with the line of the coverdisposed at an angle of approximately 45 to the vertical; The degree of tilting movement and hence the amount of soap .powderwhichis retained within the receptacle at any time may be easily readby comparing the position of the lug 20 with the index rib 18. When the receptacle is nearly full, the,lug 20 is disposed immediately above tends to tip further and further over until completely discharged. Each time that a ward; into the area forward ofthe pivotal soap it contains and provides a positive telltale as to the amount of soap which at any one/time is retained within the dispenser. This is due not onlytothe peculiar form of the'dispens'ing receptacle and the weight of the top, but due to the soap disposed within this receptacle and the angle of inclination taken'by the powdered soap or angle of the pile as the vessel returns from a discharge position'to an inoperative position.

In the beginning the greater amount of soap extends rearward of the pivotal axis but as the soap is dispensed, it collects more and more at the point of junction between the front of the dispensing vessel and the bottom thereof, and thus the dispensing vessel portion of the contents of the receptacle are dispensed and the receptacle-is released, the

receptacle will swing gently back to its normal position due to the retardation by the shifting of the powdered or liquid soap within the receptacle.

WV'hen the receptacle is completely filled with soap, the area rearward of a vertical plane intersecting but parallel to the pivotal cl axis ofthe receptacle contains more soap than the areaforward of the pivotal axis and the receptacle is thus so balanced at the pivot point that the excess of soap in the rear portion of the receptacle over the soap in the a forward portion is suflicient in weight to bring the receptacle 10 together with cap 23 from an inverted position back up to the required upright or nearly upright normal position. i

As soap is removed at intervals from receptacle M the soap is removed in greater proportions from the area rearward of the vertical plane cutting the pivotal center of the receptacle than it is from the area forward of said pivotal center because when the receptacle is inverted or turned forward, most of the soap is positively thrown forcenter and when the receptacle turns toward the normal upright position, some of the soap will remain in the area forward of a vertical plane intersecting the pivotal axis, the upper surface of the soap being. at a downward and'rearward angle of repose and not lying horizontal. The contour of the receptacle is such that when full of soap, the tell-tale action which shows visually the removal of the soap is not as rapid or as .01)-

servable as when an appreciable volume of ill) soap has been removed; The more nearly empty the receptacle, the more Obvious the tell-tale action becomes. This is the result of the pronounced slope, as-it may be called, of the lower portion of the rear. wall of the receptacle and gradually the ratio of soap in the forward lower, portion of the receptacle will be much more than the soap in the rear portion of the receptacle so as to cause a greater tilting of the receptacle. While the weight of the cap 23 assists in the tell-tale action of the receptacle,it only assists and is not the mainreason for this action. The Weight, of the cap assists in the tell-tale action because asthe receptacle comes to a position of rest'at an inclination, the pull forward of theweight of the cap becomes greater until itreaches its point of 90 degrees from the verticalp The weight of this cap also tends to snub or retard the return movement toward upright position.

WVhile I have before referred to the action of powdered soap, it will be'understood that the tell-tale action of the receptacle is the same but to'a less degree with liquid soap. It is only necessary to change the pivotal point somewhat with regard to the geometrical center in order to secure a proper telltale action with liquid soap.=

In using this device, the user presses downward upon the lip 21 until the receptacle is nearly inverted. As the receptacle swings downward the valve 25 swings open and a predetermined amount of soap is discharged through the opening normally closed by this valve and downward onto the hands. As the hand is withdrawn, the receptacle returns to its normal. position.

By reason of the peculiar form of this receptacle, it has a greater capacity than a sphere or globe of equal dimensions while at the same time, it requires to be disposed a less distance out from the wall and has a less width than a spherical receptacle would L have.

By reason of the shape of this receptacle, when the receptacle returns from its discharge position, that is, when it is released by the user and swings back, the soap automatically dampens or decreases the velocity of return'to normal position, and therefore, the receptacle comes to rest without a shock or jar being transmitted to the bracket or from the bracket to the wall. All present dispensers known to me transmit such a jar or shock and this in time tends to loosen and tear away the dispenser from the wall especially where it is mounted on a plaster or tilewall.

My dispenser is adapted to be used either with powdered soap or liquid soap and when the dispenser is moved to its discharging position, the soap is thrown forward and when the dispenser returns to its normal position, the soap, particularly if powdered soap is used, tumbles and slides on itself, thereby exerting a positivesnub or dampening action on the bowl or receptacle and because of this factthat the soap must shift within the receptacle and tumble forward and rearward in discharging, the soap is constantly agitated and this prevents caking of the soap. As will be seen from the drawings, the design and balance of the dis penser is such that the tilting shelf or lug 21 is disposed to extend a few degrees forward from a vertical plane and toward the operator and the operator in putting his fingers upon this shelf turns the bowl, practically through the weight of his fingers, with the least possible amount of effort and when he withdraws his fingers, the bowl returns by its own weight to its normal position.

The shape and design ofv the dispenser is such that as the soap is removed, the'recepta cle will tiltfurther and further forward, thus indicating by its position the amount of soap which is still within the receptacle and indicating whether or not the receptacle needs replenishment. This is partlcularly evident where the receptacles are used in gangs or banks over a plurality of wash stands so that an attendant may see at a glance which receptacles need replenishment.

It will be seen that as the soap is removed, the weight is removed fro-mthe rear of the bowl and in a greater proportion than it is removed from the front of the bowl; therefore the bowl has a tendency to tip forward as the soap is removed. The soap has a tendency to pile and stay in the front of the bowl, yet not to the extent that when operated, it will not flow into the inlet or feed mechanism. The receptacle will nearly empty itself and yet the design and balance issuch that eventhoughsoap remains toward thefront of the receptacle, yet it never remains jso far forward as to cause the receptacle to remain down in the discharge position when released. V 7 As before remarked, this device is de signed to be used either with powdered or 7 liquid soap, it is particularly sanitary, being 7 prevent waste of soap which occurs in all dispensers known to me wherein powdered or liquid soap may be dispensedby successive or rapid'actuations. By reversing the dispenser upon-the brackets, the brackets may be mounted upon a-horizontal support ings being so disposed and the shape of the receptacle bein "snch that when the receptacle is filled a ov e 'its'pivotal axis, the receptacle will be balanced in an uprightposition and as the contentsof the receptacle is intermittentlyfldischarged, the center of gravity will'progressively'shift'to cause the receptacle to progressively "tip in one direcfiOII; v 1 I.

" 31A soap dispenser comprising a receptacle suspended on pivotal bearings, the shape of the receptacle being such and the pivotal bearings'being so-disp'osed that-the greater the amount of material in therece 'tacle, the more upright the receptacle will and the less the amount of material in the receptacle, thelmore the receptacle will tilt downward inondirectio'n. I Y

4J'A soap dispenser comprising a receptacIe suspended on pivotal bearings, the pivotal axis of said bearings being disposed above thecenter of gravity of the receptacle, thejcontour of the receptacle below the pivotal aXis being such as to cause, the front lower portion of the receptacle "forward of a verti'cal plane cutting the pivotal axis, when the receptacle is full, to contain therein an amount of materialne'arly equal to material contained in the lowerportion of the receptacle rearward of said vertical plane whereby to maintain the receptacle" initially upright and as'thereceptac'le is tipped to intermittently discharge its contents to cause a progressive increasein' the ratio of material in the forward portion of the receptacle relative to that in the rear portion thereof whereby to cause the center of gravity to be shifted progressively forward as the. contents'is intermittentlydischarged. I 15.11 "soap dispenser comprising a rceptaele supported on pivotal bearings, the pivotalaxi's being disposed above the center twee-n the front of the receptacleand the pivotal axis being not greater than the dis is filled, the front wall extending downward to a level below the intersect-ion of the rear wall and said vertical plane and then extending upward to the vvertical intersection of the rear wall whereby. as the contents of the receptacle is intermittently discharged, the forward, lower portion of the receptacle will be caused to maintain a progressively increasing. proportion of material relative to that contained in the rear portion of the receptacle.

6. A -soap dispenser comprising a receptacle suspended on pivotal bearings, the pivotal axis of said bearings being so disposed'above the center of gravity when the receptacleis full that the receptacle will'take an upright position, the shape of said receptacle and position of said axis being such that whensaid receptacle is empty, the center of gravity will be shifted progressively in one direction so that the container after actuation will-come to rest in a tipped position and each time be tipped slightly more than after the previous actuation, and means limiting the swing of the receptacle in opposite directions.

. In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature GEORGEVH. PACKWOOD, JR.

'f ravity' of't he receptacle, the distance behorizontal plane toa vertical plane cutting the axis oi the receptacle, when the receptacle 

